Xiao Wu was forced to stay on the boat to accompany Fatty, vowing to learn how to steer once Zhang Qiling and Hei Yanjing returned.
Although Zhang Qiling had scenes of diving in his mind, they were all from Xiao Ge's memories. In reality, this was likely his first time attempting a deep dive.
The moment he entered the water, the surrounding temperature plummeted. While the diving suit blocked some of it, he could still faintly feel as if he were being brushed by icy silk ribbons. The diving suit also gave it a subtle, ethereal quality.
Hei Yanjing made a gesture ahead, signaling that they had to dive all the way down.
The seabed should have been silent, dark, and oppressive, but with the schools of sea fireflies drifting about, it had suddenly transformed into a dazzling underwater world.
Looking down from the boat, the sea fireflies appeared as mere specks of light. However, upon closer observation, it became clear that these sea fireflies were actually tiny fish.
Unlike ordinary fish, though, the sea fireflies, despite their bodies not exceeding a thumb's length, possessed tail fins three to four times larger than their bodies.
These tail fins were transparent and delicate, fluttering gracefully in the current like silken threads. The leaf-like patterns on them shimmered with specks of light, as if luminous spots had condensed into liquid and flowed through their veins.
Zhang Qiling raised his hand to cup a sea firefly, watching it weave between his fingers, its long tail obscuring his fingertips.
The sea fireflies weren't merely floating on the surface to show off. The two of them had been diving for a long time, and the sea fireflies around them hadn't decreased; instead, they had gradually increased.
By the time they had descended about a hundred meters, the number of sea fireflies had become so great that they had to wave them away as they swam downwards. The water pressure increased, but the diving suit they had "looted" from Song Shuning effectively resisted this pressure.
... It felt as if these sea fireflies were actually chasing something towards the seabed. The ones on the outer fringes, unlucky enough not to squeeze in, could only float on the surface for them to discover.
Zhang Qiling guessed that the object attracting so many sea fireflies was likely the one Hei Yanjing had been circling around to find. However, he was still slightly astonished when he dove to the seabed and saw it with his own eyes.
Amidst the countless sea fireflies, the seabed was covered in sand grains tightly clustered around rough reefs. Various types of seaweed swayed with the underwater currents and the movement of the fish, reflecting colorful hues under the phosphorescence, creating a scene as beautiful as a fairyland.
And within this fairyland, buried beneath the settling sand, the outline of a withered city emerged!
Calling it a city was more akin to a palace complex. With carved beams and painted eaves, pavilions and towers connected and intertwined, adorned with aquatic plants, it exuded an air of opulent grandeur. Even the dense marine life clinging to it couldn't conceal its former prosperity.
The city before them was exceptionally spectacular, yet it defied logic.
Judging by its state of disrepair and overall structure, this city had clearly been abandoned for over a thousand years. Modern instruments and previous explorations by various organizations had never discovered a city on the sea surface, which meant this palace complex had sunk to the seabed long ago.
But if this palace complex had sunk a thousand years ago, how could it still maintain such a complete and clear form now? It was so clear that as soon as they dove into the seabed, without needing any exploration, they could accurately locate every single entrance.
This world wasn't without its discovered submerged ancient ruins. However, those ruins were invariably covered by a thick layer of sand, some even bearing shipwrecks or supporting reefs, only revealed to the world through various coincidences.
The palace complex before them, upon its appearance, had silently proclaimed its uniqueness and strangeness. Its cleanness was obvious, as if it had only just settled in this location.
... Could this be a moving palace?
Before his thoughts could deepen, Hei Yanjing ahead seemed to have discovered something and beckoned Zhang Qiling to follow. The two of them moved swiftly, as if blending into a school of fish, tacitly suppressing the anomalous water flow stirred by their movements to the absolute minimum.
The area with the densest concentration of sea fireflies was a towering structure. Although its tip was somewhat damaged, revealing unsightly brickwork, its overall form remained intact.
The sea fireflies clung to it in dense clusters, their pointed mouths pressing against the stone walls, which bore a cold, weathered appearance from the passage of time. Their tails swayed, making the tower, at first glance, appear as if covered in fine snow, or like a ethereal white Christmas tree.
Even when the two of them swam very close, the sea fireflies showed no intention of escaping.
They exchanged a glance. With a mischievous intent, Hei Yanjing grabbed a diligently attached sea firefly by its tail and dragged it directly from the side of the tower. It struggled desperately, as if the tower held immense allure for it.
Zhang Qiling watched speechlessly as Hei Yanjing playfully toyed with the sea firefly. The sea firefly, filled with indignation, was released and slapped Hei Yanjing on the head with its tail, but it was blocked by the sturdy diving suit, rendering the slap futile.
Zhang Qiling knew Hei Yanjing must be laughing hysterically, but fortunately, the deep sea and the double barrier of the diving suits meant his laughter couldn't travel far. Little Zhang managed to maintain a rare moment of peace.
But how could Hei Yanjing be such a peace-loving person?
He actually made a smiling arc on his helmet with his hand, striving to convey his arrogance to Zhang Qiling even without sound.
Zhang Qiling refused to give any reaction that would fuel Hei Yanjing's arrogance. As if he hadn't seen it, he calmly shifted his gaze, dedicating his full attention to observing the tower before him.
This tower appeared no different from other buildings, constructed from a unique type of greenish stone. However, the gaps between its stone bricks seemed unusually large, and the dark interior made it impossible to discern what lay within.
It was then that Zhang Qiling realized this tower had no windows or doors for entry; it was a completely enclosed structure, as if the gaps between the stones were the intended entrances.
But what kind of entity could enter through such an opening?
Just then, Zhang Qiling's hand, placed on the side of the tower, suddenly felt a faint vibration emanating from the depths below!
As this vibration arrived, countless small streams of air erupted from the gaps in the tower's stones, creating a series of bubbles in the seawater.
Upon seeing these bubbles, the clinging sea fireflies instantly became agitated, swarming towards them and opening their mouths as if to feed.
As the bubbles burst, invisible substances were absorbed by the sea fireflies, and their phosphorescence actually became more brilliant, as if they had absorbed some special energy from this effluence.
But these were not the most important things.
Zhang Qiling and Hei Yanjing exchanged a look and simultaneously turned their attention to the darkness within the stone gaps.
... Was there a living, breathing creature down there?!